Republicans want Musk to shut up about Social Security

[mystery-ak]

 Republicans want Musk to shut up about Social Security
by Alexander Bolton - 03/20/25 6:00 AM ET

Senate Republicans want Elon Musk to stop talking about Social Security, and the Department of Government Efficiency to leave it alone.

Musk’s statement that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and plans to cut up to 12 percent of the Social Security Administration’s workforce is giving GOP lawmakers heartburn.

They warn that Social Security reform is known as the “third rail” of politics for a reason: Any party that touches it is likely to get zapped come Election Day.

And Republicans fear that reductions in staff and field offices will boomerang on them, predicting that constituents will grow frustrated if it becomes more difficult and time-consuming to address problems related to benefit claims.

“It doesn’t help the president when you have somebody who clearly is not worried about whether or not Social Security benefits are going to be there for him” leading the effort to shrink the Social Security Administration, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), referring to Musk, the world’s richest person.

“It worries Americans all over the country,” she said of people who rely on Social Security benefits to live day to day. “This is why Social Security has been kind of viewed as the untouchable from a political perspective, and why the president made very clear we’re not dealing with Social Security.”

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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5204263-senate-republicans-elon-musk-social-security/

[Kamaji]

It'll have to be reformed, one way or the other.

[DefiantMassRINO]

The conservatives need to temper their public enthusiasm or they'll give the Dems a wedge issue with which to gain seats in the 2026 midterms.

[Smokin Joe]

Ending fraud is a good thing.

If Republicans want to keep the program, stopping millions (billions) lost to fraud is a good idea.

After all, the dead may vote Democrat, but that doesn't mean we have to pay them to.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Have the Congresisonal Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and GAO perform public audits of Social Security and Medicare.

Audits can be useful tools to find and identify waste, inefficiencies, fraud, and unlegislated mission creep - like FEMA funding illegal immigrants.

[verga]

Ending fraud is a good thing.

If Republicans want to keep the program, stopping millions (billions) lost to fraud is a good idea.

After all, the dead may vote Democrat, but that doesn't mean we have to pay them to.

If the dead are removed from the rolls, we won't need as many people processing check to people that don't exist. Years ago my wife worked for a major corporation in the payroll dept. When 2/3 of the rank and file got furloughed they didn't need 2 people in the office, so my wife was let go. It sounds harsh, but it was reality.

[Wingnut]

Love the hill.  Start with a premise and write a story around it with whatisisms.